Old Posters and Paper Flowers
by Lady Lara Black
Summary: original edited version of my story Old Posters Paper Flowers and Angel Wings AU Hermione catches Snape at the Grimmauld Place when he takes the picture and letter from Lily and gives him long overdue comfort Potterverse and characters belong to JKR


Hermione Granger was staying at the residence of number twelve Grimmauld Place hiding from the Death Eaters that attacked her previous hiding place.

Hermione never expected to see this house again, not for a very long time if ever. When she was forced from her hiding place at the Burrow it was the only place that she could think of that Harry would meet her at. It was a comfortable place where there was a lot of warmth and friendship at one time. This was a house that she expected to see her best friend's godfather in all the time, but knew that he wouldn't be back. She still missed Sirius Black daily, a pain that hardly ever went away.

She was in a simple blouse and skirt, not her normal attire. For whatever reason, she wanted to feel pretty today. She wanted to feel different, like she did and Bill and Fleur's wedding. She attracted some head turning, a feeling that she enjoyed a lot. Charlie, Fred, George, Harry and Remus all cranked their necks as they walked by admiring her.

As she went upstairs (as quietly as possible to avoid waking Mrs. Black), she heard a soft sound coming from Sirius' childhood bedroom. She wondered for a moment if it could be his ghost.

"No," she said softly to herself, "You are being silly."

It was probably the Black house- elf, Kreacher, acting in his usual nutter manner. However, it was not the old house -elf, but her old Potions professor and current Hogwarts Headmaster, Severus Snape. He was on the floor sobbing over a ripped picture. He wore his usual attire of black slacks, white shirt and long black waistcoat. However, he was barefoot, his waistcoat unbuttoned and white shirt was opened three buttons. She knew that she should run for help but somehow she did not have the heart to do it. She saw his spine straighten, knowing that his senses sharpened into full defense mode in response to her presence.

As he leapt to his feet drew his wand and pinned her to Sirius' poster-clad wall. After recognizing his "intruder," his face morphed from fearsome back to his normal bored expression. He dryly said, "Oh, it's just you. What are you doing here Miss Granger?"

Tensing and feeling her upper arms begin to bruise with the force of his grip, she replied, "I could ask you the same thing, Professor. Why risk coming here when everyone is after you?"

He turned his dark eyes away from her face, in an effort to hide his ashamed look and said, "That is really not your concern Miss Granger."

Her brown eyes roamed the room, in a search to make sense of his presence. She asserted, "It is Professor. I live here, and you are wanted for the murder of Professor Dumbledore. This is the room and home of your worst enemy, which leads to the question, what is going on here?"

It was then that she saw a picture discarded onto the threadbare carpet in his haste to hex her. It was a ripped picture of a woman with dark red hair and familiar green eyes. Recognition flickered within her eyes and she knew that the woman was Lily Potter. She then asked herself, "What would Snape be doing with a picture of Harry's mum?"

As if to answer her thoughts, he followed her gaze and said, "Yes, Miss Granger, that's Lily. I knew her well. In fact, I loved her and she loved me until Potter took her away."

Now everything started to make sense to Hermione. Snape had loved Lily. He still loved her. Since Harry looked identical to his father, Snape channeled his longstanding resentment and heartache into making Harry's life miserable. However, it was even more very interesting that despite hatred Harry and James, Snape still saved Harry's life, and her own, more than once. For that reason alone, she decided to hear him out before alerting anyone of his presence.

She asked, "Professor, there is a spell to tongue twist you if ever you should return from Mad- Eye Moody, how on earth did you get past it?"

He finally let his grip on her arms fall slack and regarded her for a moment. She could tell that he was battling internally about what to say next.

"Very well, Miss Granger, if you must know, I did kill Dumbledore, but not out of malice. Malice is the key ingredient to Moody's spell. I killed Dumbledore out of compassion and to preserve the Order. Dumbledore was already dying, a product of a curse on the Gaunt ring. He used his destined death to save Draco, who he knew would be ordered to kill him. See, Dumbledore knew that he was going to die within months and that Draco was no murderer. Therefore, he asked me, knowing that the Dark Lord would turn to me to ensure that his plan to assassinate Dumbledore would succeed, to do just that. It would spare him a painful death and save Draco from his father's path. His plan worked, as I am still in the Dark Lord's inner circle, Draco is safe and Lily's son is still alive."

In response, Hermione unconsciously lifted her hand to stroke his long dark hair. She felt him tense at first, but relaxed when he realized that she didn't pity him. She knew that he went through so much and never got a thank you or compassion from the Order that he helped save. Sinking them both to the carpet, she took his head and put it in her lap as an overdue, comforting gesture.

It was an odd feeling sitting in Sirius' old room full of wizarding photographs, muggle pin-up girls and pictures of motorcycles. She felt his presence so strongly in here and yet, strangely, her only thought was of the man in her lap. These men, who was an enemy of Sirius' and yet, still, made her heart swell. It was an odd pairing, but also seemed to make sense. They both loved another so intensely that it consumed them. The losses of the ones they loved still haunted them today. Severus proved his love by protecting the son of the woman he loved, but also the son of a man he hated above all others. He hated James more than he even hated Sirius. She was also haunted by memories of someone she loved so deeply that she would have died for him if she could. This was the same someone that haunted her soul, even after his passing three years ago. Severus was lucky he at lest knew Lily's love. Her love for Sirius turned out to be unrequited.

Lost amongst her own thoughts, she didn't notice when Severus' hand started to caress her thigh, in a smooth, innocent motion. Innocent as it was, it still invoked emotions in Hermione that she thought where buried with Sirius. It was then that he finally lifted his head and looked at her with red, swollen eyes. They connected in their shared loss of love and sought to find comfort in each other. When he saw no objection in her kiss he scoped her up in his arms and took her to bed where they lost themselves in each other in a flurry of discarded clothing cries and passionate cursing "FUCK, FUCK YES!"

From her and "HERMIONE" from him they found completion after waves of pleasure.

After he recovered he covered their form with the covers and they both fell into an exhausted sleep.

Hours later, she woke to an empty bed, but a peaceful feeling in her heart for the first time in three years.


End file.
